Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#1
Posted: 1/8/23 at 10:29pm
I noticed a lot of the original creatives of the Bart Sher Lincoln Center revivals are changing. Why is this? Catherine Zuber is not doing costumes. Donald Holder is not doing lighting. Ted Sperling is not music director. Chris Gattelli is not the choreographer. Michael Yeargan is still on as scenic design. Here are the new ones:
Costumes-Jennifer Moeller
Music Director- Kimberly Grigsby
Lighting-Lap Chi Chu
Choreographer- Byron Easley
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#2
Posted: 1/9/23 at 5:12am
They're just mixing things up a little bit. I think it's great. As wonderful as the "dream creative team" of Lincoln Center revivals has been, I'm excited to see what some new collaborators bring to the table. Part of keeping Broadway new and exciting is allowing other artists to have a place at the table.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#3
Posted: 1/9/23 at 4:04pm
Zuber is the only one whose work I'll wonder about.
Sher isn't using those folks on PICTURES FROM HOME either, nor did he use them on MOCKINBIRD (nor Yeargen).
He's worked with Grigsby before on PIAZZA and MOCKINGBIRD, and she's a frequent collaborator with Sperling and Adam Guettel, so I'm sure she'll be a great addition to his team.
Change is good! You don't want people getting complacent, or too much "same"ness.
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#4
Posted: 1/9/23 at 4:29pm
Mixing it up can be great for the creative process and, as a non-profit, Lincoln Center does have a responsibility to be fostering the next generation of premier creatives. None of these newcomers are fresh faces, they all have solid resumes, but they also aren't Catherine Zuber and Ted Sperling.
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#5
Posted: 1/9/23 at 4:37pm
ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Zuber is the only one whose work I'll wonder about.
Sher isn't using those folks on PICTURES FROM HOME either, nor did he use them on MOCKINBIRD (nor Yeargen).
He's worked with Grigsby before on PIAZZA and MOCKINGBIRD, and she's a frequent collaborator with Sperling and Adam Guettel, so I'm sure she'll be a great addition to his team.
Change is good! You don't want people getting complacent, or too much "same"ness."
Sher also worked with Grigsby on Fiddler on the Roof for some time in early 2016 (when Ted Sperling took a LOA).
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#6
Posted: 1/9/23 at 5:26pm
It may also be that between MasterVoices and his symphony work, Ted Sperling doesn't have the time needed to be the Music Supervisor/Conductor of a Broadway show ––– which is quite a lot of time, especially if you're conducting 8x a week at the start of the run, and then maintaining the show (understudy and replacement rehearsals, casting, putting together new companies, etc). The Broadway MD job is quite a bit less glamorous than in the symphonic and opera worlds.
Similarly, Christopher Gattelli (a frequent but not constant collaborator) is now a director in his own right and focusing on more choreography-forward work.
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#7
Posted: 1/9/23 at 6:24pm
It’s called..
Box ticking.
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/2/13
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#8
Posted: 1/9/23 at 7:00pm
ErmengardeStopSniveling said:
Similarly, Christopher Gattelli (a frequent but not constant collaborator) is now a director in his own right and focusing on more choreography-forward work."
Yes it this isn't a show with big dance numbers
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#9
Posted: 1/9/23 at 7:54pm
I fully support a change up. I'm glad they are keeping Michael Yeargan, though. He know's that space so well and always delivers. I like Kim Grigsby but always find her conducting style a bit distracting. She moves around a lot. I'm not familiar with the rest of the team and they all seem slightly new to Bday musicals. They are definitely re-thinking this production so perhaps new eyes are a welcome addition.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#10
Posted: 1/9/23 at 8:41pm
Change is good.
This is about the fine art world but immediately made me think of some of the pearl-clutching surrounding this and OKLAHOMA:
https://twitter.com/jerrysaltz/status/1612624208277954560
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#11
Posted: 1/9/23 at 8:50pm
Bill Snibson said: "I fully support a change up. I'm glad they are keeping Michael Yeargan, though. He know's that space so well and always delivers. I like Kim Grigsby but always find her conducting style a bit distracting. She moves around a lot. I'm not familiar with the rest of the team and they all seem slightly new to Bday musicals. They are definitely re-thinking this production so perhaps new eyes are a welcome addition."
I disagree about Yeargan. But I do wonder if a lot of my gripes are a actually with Sher. I loved his use of space with Piazza and think it worked well for South Pacific and King and I, but My Fair Lady and Fiddler just felt “eh” with stage hands moving the set and setting it up. And the “communal” vibe of Bridges and Mockingbird didn’t quite work. Mockingbird felt devoid of a specific place.
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#12
Posted: 1/9/23 at 8:56pm
Dolly80 said: "It’s called..
Box ticking. "
I had to Google it, and yeah…3/4 of the people mentioned are POC. I think a certain amount of “box ticking” is a good thing to ensure diversity, but this kind of designer shakeup (as well as the casting of the three leads) seems a pretty deliberate choice. Which is probably smart since Camelot is pretty old and white and a new audience needs to be built.
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#13
Posted: 1/9/23 at 9:15pm
Does this kind of "box ticking" work? Just curious as all the really strong POC shows on Broadway this season seemed to have struggled with Piano Lesson maybe being the lone survivor. So, I guess, is diversifying bleeding over into audiences or not?
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#14
Posted: 1/9/23 at 9:46pm
RippedMan said: "Does this kind of "box ticking" work? Just curious as all the really strong POC shows on Broadway this season seemed to have struggled with Piano Lesson maybe being the lone survivor. So, I guess, is diversifying bleeding over into audiences or not?"
It's not a matter of ticket sales, it's a matter of inclusion and representation and diverse points of view among design teams.
However, certain representation attempts in commercial theatre can look like a bandaid on an amputation. Like when you have a white/male producer, white/male director, white leads, and white authors, but then you hire ESosa, Mimi Lien, some POC associates/stage managers, and a 50%+ POC ensemble/supporting cast. It's GREAT that those talented people are being employed and no doubt they're going to do good work. But that's the bare minimum when it comes to diversification, and it's not something that deserves applause.
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#15
Posted: 1/9/23 at 10:15pm
SouthernCakes said: "Bill Snibson said: "I fully support a change up. I'm glad they are keeping Michael Yeargan, though. He know's that space so well and always delivers. I like Kim Grigsby but always find her conducting style a bit distracting. She moves around a lot. I'm not familiar with the rest of the team and they all seem slightly new to Bday musicals. They are definitely re-thinking this production so perhaps new eyes are a welcome addition."
I disagree about Yeargan. But I do wonder if a lot of my gripes are a actually with Sher. I loved his use of space with Piazza and think it worked well for South Pacific and King and I, but My Fair Lady and Fiddler just felt “eh” with stage hands moving the set and setting it up. And the “communal” vibe of Bridges and Mockingbird didn’t quite work. Mockingbird felt devoid of a specific place."
Those are Sher issues. He likes the cast moving elements and keeping things feeling a bit more organic. Most of his shows choose actors moving set pieces vs. automation. The poor crew and cast guys in South Pacific had to push on vintage war trucks to create the Follies stage!
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#16
Posted: 1/9/23 at 10:22pm
To piggy-back on what Ermengarde said, it's also just basically a requirement in the theatre industry at this point. Whether or not it helps box office, it's considered a moral imperative to have a racially-diverse cast and creative team. When it comes to the designers, audience members won't know or care, but it's just good form, and artistically, with an old chestnut like Camelot, one can hope that having a team of various different backgrounds can keep it from feeling like a museum piece.
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#17
Posted: 1/9/23 at 11:13pm
a white woman is still doing costumes. a white person is still the music director. I don't think this is about diversity. I was thinking the originals didn't want to do it for other reasons.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#18
Posted: 1/9/23 at 11:31pm
Broadway Flash said: "I was thinking the originals didn't want to do it for other reasons."
Well Adrian did die more than a year before it opened, though Franz Allers could have conceivably worked on all other revivals since he only died in 1995.
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#19
Posted: 1/10/23 at 12:19am
Broadway Flash said: "a white woman is still doing costumes. a white person is still the music director. I don't think this is about diversity. I was thinking the originals didn't want to do it for other reasons."
Based on pictures of Jennifer Moeller (the costume designer), I would say she is definitely Asian (although possibly mixed race).
Sperling, Gattelli, Zuber, Holder not doing Camelot#20
Posted: 1/10/23 at 1:50am
Some seem to think that we can recover from centuries of neglect by snapping our fingers. We can't. Broadening audiences takes time and we have only recently been taking baby steps in that direction. Some of the non-white shows failed because most BIPOC people believe, for good reasons, that theatre and Broadway in particular is not a place for them. It will take a number of years if we work hard at it for Broadway to resonate for these individuals, and there is no way for it to happen as long as those creating theatre are all or mostly all white. Yet Broadway is finally starting to recognize what is required and taking steps. This realization is driven both by the demands of BIPOC theatre people and by the awareness that, much to the dismay of most republicans, we are fasting approaching the day that whites are not in the majority. I was walking down the street today and saw a sign flashed on one of those internet/phone kiosks that said that 800 languages are spoken in NYC. 800. I had no idea there were that many languages in the world.
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